Later Crusades — Northern — Against Christians — The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Christian Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these military expeditions are those to the Holy Land between and that had the objective of reconquering Jerusalem and its surrounding area from Muslim rule after the region had been conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate centuries earlier.
Beginning with the First Crusade , which resulted in the conquest of Jerusalem in , dozens of military campaigns were organised, providing a focal point of European history for centuries. Crusading declined rapidly after the 15th century with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans.
He encouraged military support for Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos and called for an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Across all social strata in Western Europe, there was an enthusiastic response.
Participants came from all over Europe and had a variety of motivations. These included religious salvation, satisfying feudal obligations, opportunities for renown, and economic or political advantage.
Later expeditions were conducted by generally more organised armies, sometimes led by a king. All were granted papal indulgences. A European presence remained in the region in some form until the fall of Acre in After this, no further large military campaigns were organised.
